There are a variety of conventional approaches to plastically deforming metal when manufacturing metal products. Such approaches include forging, rolling, extrusion, drawing and other variations of these processes.
During plastic deformation, changes in both the metal and the equipment may occur. In particular, deforming metal in particular ways may cause the metal to become undesirably harder and less ductile (i.e., brittle). Additionally, the equipment which handles the metal wears out after certain amounts of use due to wear and tear. For example, reinforcements which typically exist in metal matrix composite (MMC) material are very abrasive and are capable of wearing out stamping equipment at more than 10 times the rate vis-à-vis non-MMC material.
When certain manufacturers make metal components, the manufacturers choose to apply heat to the metal to increase ductility. These manufacturers pass the metal material through high temperature environments (e.g., ovens) to soften the metal material during deformation. Such heat facilitates workability of the metal and may be easier on the equipment. At the same time, heat application significantly reduces dimensional accuracy and surface finish.